From the Archives and General Library of the Carmelite Order
This year marks two important centenaries for the Carmelite Order. On January 30, 1226, Pope Honorius III issued a bull, in the form of a mandatum, or command, which began with the words Ut vivendi normam: with it, the pontiff commanded the hermits on Mt. Carmel to faithfully observe the Formula of Life, given a few years earlier (between 1206 and 1214) by the Patriarch, Albert of Jerusalem. By observing it and living “in holy penance,” the Carmelites would obtain an indulgence. This was not yet the approval of the Rule, which would only take place on October 1, 1247, with Innocent IV, but a first recognition of the community of Carmelite hermits and their Formula of Life.
A century later, on February 3, 1326, John XXII granted all the privileges already enjoyed by the Franciscans and Dominicans with the constitution Super cathedram. Thus was completed the rather bumpy journey of transforming Carmel into a mendicant order.
